Double Life
by Patriot-of-USA
Summary: A desperate situation had driven Minato to a desperate decision. It was something he did that he knew was necessary... and right... and wrong... and he could tell no one.
1. Snapped

Note: This starts after Season One.

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><p>01 – Snapped<p>

Not a single thought crossed his might as stared listlessly out into the night. The city lights had flickered on batch by batch, defying the coming night. Minato's eyes however still saw the horrid image of Musubi lying on the bridge, unmoving...

Dead.

And he had done nothing at all.

Already he felt the lump rising in his throat again. The frustration, the self-disgust, all of it overwhelmed him...

He had thought he could help. Kuno and Satomi had wanted nothing to do with the "Sekirei Plan." All they wanted was a quiet life together, to escape. So of course he had promised to help. And in the end he had almost gotten everyone killed. Had it not been for Tsukiumi-

"Minato-san?"

Speak of the devil.

Turning his head to look up, the blond-haired Sekirei stood proud in the moon light. Her confident poise spoke volumes of her esteem, but her eyes showed clear worry. Her "husband" had not been the same since they had returned to the inn, and now the time had come to confront him on it.

"You have said very little since we have returned." She smoothed her dress out as she moved to sit beside him on the rooftop, overlooking the city.

He said nothing in response. She turned her gaze to the city, both of them silently looking on for several moments.

"Why..." His sudden interjection almost made her jump. "Why did-... what changed your mind?"

Indeed, she had been so vehemently against the proposal at first. So why?

"Minato," she started, standing up again.

"It is the duty of a Sekirei to fight for their Ashikabi, no exceptions."

He looked up at her, their eyes making contact. She looked away with a blush, unable to hold the contact for long.

"I cannot say that I approve of what it was thou were attempting..."

"BUT-" She held up her hand, silencing his objections.

"But I am thy wife, and will remain loyal to thee. So..."

She looked down to him, again, making eye contact. "But listen to what I tell thou now. It is the duty of Sekirei to fight..."

Her eyes pierced his soul. "To refuse is to be a coward and to neglect the duties of a Sekirei. This is unforgivable."

She turned to go. "What I did tonight was to help you my dear husband. I do not approve of their actions, and I most CERTAINLY do not approve of their dragging thee into those plans."

He eyes widened. "Tsukiumi, I-"

"If they wish to escape, they must do so on their own power from now on," she asserted. "Musubi was not the only one who almost lost their life tonight."

She turned back to regard out of the corner of her eye. "I will not tolerate the loss of my husband."

And with that, she jumped from the roof, leaving Minato along once again. He turned his gaze back to the city lights.

Minato was slow and precise in every move he made. Sneaking into his room, he carefully retrieved his coat. Meanwhile, three Sekirei slept. Musubi, Kusano, and Tsukiumi lay on the bed that was supposed to be his, leaving enough room in the middle for him to nestle into.

He had no desire for sleep now however.

He made his moves ever so slowly and cautiously, lest he wake up the lion's den. Lucky for him he had left his closet open, his jacket hanging out for him. Cautiously slinging it over his arm, he made his way back for the door.

"Minato..."

His blood ran cold and he stopped dead in his tracks. The soft call of his name made him dreadfully turn his head around. Musubi's call had been ghostly, and the said boy exhaled with relief at seeing she was only dreaming.

His eyes stayed transfixed on the sleeping girl for a moment. How close he had come to losing her tonight...

He closed the door behind him and made his way downstairs, not hearing her finish her thought.

"Minato..." her eye shed a single tear as she reached out for the ethereal form of her Ashikabi in her dream. "Please... what's wrong? Tell me…"

The front door clacked shut behind Minato, sealing him away from the warm comfort of the inn and out into the crisp night.

He barely got three steps before...

"A bit late for a walk Minato-san."

He nearly fell flat on his face, feeling like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. Spinning around, he knew Kagari-san had definitely NOT been standing behind him a minute ago. Yet there he was now, with a lop-sided smile on his face.

"Just… just need to clear my head for a little while Kagari-san," the boy chuckled nervously.

The other man stood with his arms crossed, eyeing him suspiciously.

Minato slightly fidgeted under his gaze. The piercing look he was getting made him feel like he was being interrogated.

"S-So…" Minato awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I'll see you around, then…"

Hands in his pockets, Minato walked toward the street, trying his best to ignore Kagari's eyes drilling holes in the back of his head. He really didn't have the energy to deal with this now.

"My walk to work is in roughly the same direction," he called after the young ronin.

Minato's eyes shut and his teeth clenched. The boy had always been a gentle spirit, one that most thought incapable of hurting even a fly. Yet even he could feel frustration at the end of long day when all he wanted was to be along for awhile.

"Want some company?" The host offered.

'_No,'_ his mind groaned. "Sure." He hoped his short answer didn't show any of the tired resignation he felt. He didn't want to come across as rude.

But had he known what was in store for him that night, he would have taken off running.

Neither had said much as they walked along. Kagari-san never talked much, and Minato was too tired to talk. So much was on his mind now…

The whole Sekirei Plan was way over his head, and he knew it. What had happened the night before had thrown that fact in his face. He had not slept a wink that night, and only had a small nap during the day. His mind had been thinking too fast. The adrenaline surging when he helped Kuno and Satomi escape, the anxiety of them being chased, the… pure terror he felt at seeing Musubi lying on the bridge…

He let out a sigh before he could stop it.

"You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Minato instantly jerked his head around, sporting a healthy shade of vermillion at being caught off guard while he was wrapped up in his thoughts.

Kagari smiled good naturedly with a hint of worry in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Minato smiled, feeling somewhat more relaxed. "Just… a lot going on."

"Anything you can tell me?" Kagari seemed genuinely concerned. It sort of surprised Minato. Kagari had always been friendly, but had kept him and the others at a certain distance. Why was he being so forward now?

He was even… concerned?

Wait… no… He couldn't! He could not have known about what had happened on the bridge last night! …Could he?

Minato shook his head, ridding himself of the absurd thought.

"I guess I just realized how dangerous this city really was," he replied to answer the man's question.

"Minato-san…"

He couldn't tell if his tone was exasperated at his naivety or concern.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he questioned the boy once more.

Minato turned back with a tired gaze. "Like I said Kagari-san, just need some time alone."

And with that, Minato continued walking, not even bother to look back to see if the other man was following him. Kagari continued to watch him for awhile, before turning to go his own way.

Nothing, nothing, nothing… NOTHING!

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. How could he have done nothing?

His mind was working to fast again, and he could feel a headache coming on. He was so frustrated it almost made him sick. Finally, finding a bench, he steady himself to sit down, holding his head in his hands. He knew he needed to sleep, the exhaustion was taking its toll on his mind and body. But he just…

"NO!" The scream jolted him to reality, his headache and swirling mind wiped away by the shock.

Pulling his head up, he turned to where he had heard the scream. Without even waiting for instructions from his mind, his legs began to quickly carry him in the direction of where the sound had originated before he even registered what was happening. He was carried down the walking path, taking a detour into the local park by the river, stopping short of coming out from under the cover of the trees into the opening.

A girl stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over herself. "I-it…it isn't you!" she cried. "You're not the one!"

One of the two men that slowly advanced on her had a lustful sneer on his face while the other sported a dirty scowl. "What was that BITCH?" the scowling man spat.

"That's no way to talk to your Ashikabi," the sneering one said. "I think you should apologize."

'A Sekirei.' Minato's mind instantly registered. He had known before the two thugs even mentioned the word Ashikabi. From being around so many, he had come to recognize something in the way Sekirei behaved that made them stand out from the others. He could also plainly tell that neither of these two were her Ashikabi.

"You're not him…" the girl stuttered. "You're NOT MY ASHIKABI!"

The scowling one lost his temper, charging the girl. "YOU DAMN BIT-"

A ball of fire exploded steps in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks, hurling him backwards and land flat on his back. The flames cleared away, revealing a man clothed in a black overcoat standing between the two men and the Sekirei.

His face was covered with a mask, but that white hair was unmistakable.

'_Kagari-san?'_ Minato had clasp a hand over his mouth to keep from shouting out the man's name. He was a… he was a SEKIREI?

"Rather un-gentlemenly of you," Kagari berated the two men as they struggled to their feet. "And you call yourselves men?"

"HOW DARE YOU?" the irate man screeched.

"Woah, woah, woah," the other one eased between Kagari and his infuriated friend with hands help up. That damn smirk had never left his face. "I don't think this really any of your business pal. You see my little brother here was just taking what was his."

Kagari quirked an eyebrow briefly in contempt, momentarily eyeing the girl cowering behind him.

"What's his?" The Sekirei questioned sarcastically.

"You see," the smirker explained calmly. "I myself am an Ashikabi, but my little brother Yosuke hasn't found his Sekirei yet."

He motioned over to the seething boy still picking himself up off the ground.

"It doesn't seem really fair that he shouldn't have one, does it? I mean, we're brothers, and he doesn't like to be left out."

"So," the man concluded, dropping his arms to his side and taking a more aggressive stance. "What say you just walk away? Hmm? I don't think that's too unreasonable."

Kagari merely snorted at the man's arrogance. "I don't think so." Holding his arm out to his side, a flame burst to life.

"I-it's you…" the girl behind him stuttered. "You're him… you're the Sekirei Guardian!"

'_Sekirei Guardian?'_ Minato wondered. The title was self-descriptive, but he'd never heard of this before.

"ENOUGH TALKING!" The Yosuke screamed. Finally, he lunged for Kagari, his hands thrust forward with blind range without any sort of tactics or skill in consideration for his attack.

The Sekirei Guardian did not so much as flinch. He grabbed the girl behind him and merely stepped the both of them out of Yosuke's way. The man was too committed in his blind charge that he stumbled as he tried to catch himself from falling. Furiously, he twirled around and threw a wide punch in Kagari's direction. The Sekirei ducked with ease, dodging the poorly directed strike and countered with his own by throwing hook right across the man's temple, sending him to the ground with a cry.

An audible sigh turned Kagari's attention back to the older brother.

"I honestly hoped it wouldn't come to this…" he lamented. The mockingly sad look was quickly replaced by a devilish grin. His hand brandished a switchblade from the pocket of his jacket.

The man crouched into a stance, slightly pulling his knife back, ready to strike. Kagari copied his stance, widening his legs and dropping into a more aggressive posture. The man charged, thrusting his knife forward into the strike Kagari knew was long coming. He yanked his whole body out of the weapon's path, countering with his arm and guiding the man's knife safely away from him. His other arm launched a hook into the man's temple, followed by his other arm wrapping around the man's neck and pulling him into a joke hold.

The smirk had vanished from Yosuke's older brother and had been replaced by a look of panic as he struggled for air. Kagari's free hand captured the other man's hand with the knife. Twisting it from his grip, he tossed it away without looking. Twirling in the air, it punctured the ground at Minato's feet, making him jump.

Kagari's enemy began to struggle less and less, his vision blurring as his mind began to descend into limbo.

"HEY!"

The shout made Kagari jerk his head around, his eyes widening in horror.

Yosuke was holding the girl in a choke hold, holding a knife to her throat.

"You'd better let my brother go, or this bitch gets ugly real quick!"

Kagari's teeth clenched, but his arms released the boy. Yosuke's brother choked and gagged as he rolled to the ground, but frustration championed exhaustion, and jumping up with a growl, roughly backhanded the Sekirei Guardian, sending him to the ground with a grunt.

"NO! Stop it!" The girl cried.

Yosuke's brother quickly grabbed the silver-haired Sekirei's hands and pinned them above his head, straddling him with his own body, trapping Kagari underneath him.

"STOP!" The girl screamed. "Let him go! I'll…" she clenched her teeth. Fresh tears welled in her eyes once more and her voice stuttered as she relented: "I'll… I'll do it…"

"Well…" Yosuke's finally felt like he was back on top again. "That's more like it."

He twirled the girl around in his arms, holding her close to him with one, and holding her chin with the other. "Glad to see you've come around."

His face began to draw close to hers, and her eyes shut as she tried to stifle her sobs.

Yosuke's brother watched the scene unfold from afar. Finally, his brother had taken the reins, and wouldn't half to listen to him bitch about not having a Sekirei like him as he had for the past five weeks. However, he wasn't too interested in the request the girl had made. Why should his brother be the only one to get something out of tonight?

His eyes turned to the Sekirei trapped underneath him.

"Well," he thoughtfully admitted to himself as he turned Kagari's head to face him. "Not really my style…" he grinned menacingly. "But I guess you are cute… for a guy I mean. And I can always use another Sekirei…"

Kagari's eyes widened as realized what was coming.

Minato's legs began to shake, and his breathing along with them.

No… it was happening again! It all was going wrong. That girl, Kagari-san, they were about to…

'_Now's your chance…'_

"What…?" for a brief second, the echoing voice had his full attention on the account of him coming from nowhere….

His head felt instantly heavy…

Thousands of whispers began to sound off in his head, and his vision blurred.

"Urgh…" he clutched his head.

One became distinct. _"It is the duty of a Sekirei to fight for their Ashikabi."_

Was that… Tsukiumi?

"_I can feel so much love coming from you…"_ Musubi? No… not Musubi…someone using her voice…

"_Is it nothing you can tell me?"_ Kagari's worried eyes flashed through his mind.

His head felt heavier, and fell to his knees and sounds in head became faster, starting to blur together…

"_It is the d-duty of an Ash-Ash-Ashikabi to f-fight for their Sekirei...reireireireireireirei,"_ The words in his head scratched and were being distorted like a malfunction.

"_Congratulations my boy!"_ Minaka! Minato's anger rose. _"You have been selected to play the Sekirei game!"_

"Minato…" Musubi's whisper was too far away to reach him.

The whispers and voices and visions were ripping his mind apart, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to scream.

"_Husband? Minato? Minato! Minato-san… ONI-CHAN! NO! Mister Sahashi?"_ Too many speaking at once…

Through the chaos in his mind, he slowly began to raise his head, trying to regain his ground. He cracked an eye open, and then both widened at the first thing they saw…

The knife…

It stuck out of the ground, like a sword in the stone, waiting for its master to claim it.

'_You want a way out of you weakness…'_ the foreign voice that had begun it all cut through the background voices that fused into a white noise.

'_Here it is.'_

The voices in his head had pitched, their sound now deafening.

Minato's eyes were wide with wonder, desperation, and fear all mixed into one, focused on the waiting blade before him.

All the voice, the whispers, the visions were all a constant screech that creshendoed and his mind was obliterated by a deafening scream…

And then was instantly silent.

Kagari desperately pulled at his captured arms, but they were weak against the stronger opponent. He was held still.

The man sitting on his hips scowled. "Don't you go thinking I'm some kind of fag or something!"

Kagari snarled in disgust. This man was actually going to be his-

"Although," the arrogant boy recanted, breaking Kagari's thought process. "I guess I shouldn't knock it before…"

The smirk on his face instantly fell, and his eyes quivered.

"Ugh…" He looked uncomfortable.

Kagari's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"AAAHHH!" The man cried in fierce pain, his eyes widening in horror at the realization at what had happened to him.

He instantly fell forward onto Kagari. The Sekirei looked down at the man lying on top of him. In his back was a horrible wound. Blood soaked and expanded around a tear in the man's jacket which further penetrated into a deep wound that was nearly blackened from the amount of blood pooling and overflowing.

Kagari looked up, and nearly laughed at the absurdity at what he saw.

Minato… was holding knife.

Staring into the other boy's face, the sky had become too dark, but Kagari almost could make out his eyes, but he couldn't see any emotion in them.

He looked again at the knife the boy was holding, and down at the man laying very still on his own body. There was no doubt at what had just happened:

Minato had stabbed the man, and then twisted the knife.

He looked up again, disbelief painting his face. "Mina-"

"OH MY GOD!"

Both of their faces jerked toward the cry. Yosuke had let the girl go at the sound of his brother's scream. His arrogant smirk was long gone and now horror replaced it.

"Oni-sama?" His head shakily turned towards the other man still on his feet.

"What…" His face twisted into rage. "What…did…you…"

"AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" Minato's wrathful scream shocked the rage right out of the boy. He didn't even see the Ashikabi bolting in his direction at lightning speed until it was too late.

Seeing the boy about to crash into him, Yosuke threw his hands up in front of him in desperate defense at the last second. Minato chambered his arm across his body and violently slashed at the other boy.

Yosuke's flimsy arms were swept aside and the blade carved violently into his neck.

Blood erupted from the deep cut and splashed everything. Yosuke fell to the ground, his body convulsing violently. He attempted to scream, but his vocal cords had been cut, and in place of gales of screeching, more blood pumped from his severed neck. He was dead in the space of a breath.

The female Sekirei did nothing but stare at the violently fast carnage with wide eyes.

In less than six seconds, Minato's attack was over.

Kagari stared silently… still taking in what had just happened.

His eyes had captured the whole spectacle, but his mind was still stuck back on the fact that Minato was here at all.

Coughing yanked his mind to focus on what was right in front of him, which was the brother coming back to life.

Kagari frantically scooted backwards, shooting out from underneath the other boy.

Minato's body came flying in and instantly crashed down on the sputtering attacker-turned-prey.

He jabbed the knife into the other boy's neck, then again, and again, and again, and again, and again. The other boy's frantic attempts at defense and escape became weaker with each passing puncture.

With one last stab, this one with particular ferocity, Minato pushed deep, and then retracted out for the last time.

His breathing was heavy, but in rhythm.

He turned to the Sekirei he had just saved.

Kagari stared, mouth agape at what had just transpired.

Minato's face was splashed in blood, his shirt by this point almost soaked in it.

He stared at the boy's face, disbelieving who it was:

"M…Minato?" he whispered.

The boy stared back for a moment… then instantly bolted in the opposite direction.

"MINATO!" The Sekirei-guardian cried out.

He didn't respond. His legs just kept pounding the ground, getting faster and faster.

Kagari, that girl, those two boys….those two boys that had just tried to hurt that girl, those two boys that just tried to hurt Kagari, those two boys that were the monsters he knew they were when he had first laid eye on them…

Those two boys… he had just stabbed… and killed.

'_Well done…'_

To be continued.


	2. Reconcile

02 – Reconcile

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><p>Homura had been running around for three hours now and had found no sign of Minato. After dropping off the young Sekirei girl at Izumo Inn where Miya had offered to take her in for the night, Homura had gone back out to search for the boy.<p>

He still couldn't believe what he had seen.

Minato… The same soft, sweet-hearted (probably too much for his own good), gentle, and timid Minato, had just killed two people.

This was all his fault.

His teeth grit in frustration. How could he have been so careless?!

He knew why... He had seen two brain dead fools and figured them easy prey. He'd gotten cocky and failed to protect that girl that almost been enslaved. Then he'd actually let himself get caught and almost forced into a contract himself.

Both he and that girl would have seen the end of their free lives that night had it not been for-

"Minato…"

'_Where did you go…?'_

Minato was on his hands and knees, greedily gulping down gasps of air. He'd run until his legs had given out. He had no idea for how long, he must have been miles away by now.

He fell back into a sitting position, his back resting against a tree. He looked down at his quivering hands... covered in blood.

The vision was rushed and blurred in his head:

Kagari on the ground, the boy holding him down...

The knife in his hand, his grip tightening around the handle...

He heard his scream... the scream of the man he stabbed in the back.

Then he heard the cry behind him from the other boy, and then he charged him... more blood.

Minato's cheeks blunged and swung his head around, wretching into the grass behind the tree he lay against. He spit out the taste left in his mouth. Whether from shock, disgust, or exhaustion... or maybe all of them, he couldn't tell which one had caused him to lose the lunch he had thought was long digested.

He stood up and stumbled back away from where he was sitting, trying to put distance between him and the bile he had just upchucked. His legs finally failed from fatigue and buckled beneath him. Minato fell flat on his back with a grunt. Again, he inhaled air by the mouthfuls. His body was utterly spent. His muscles refused to respond.

Lifting his head, he saw the river down the hill from where he lay. The tall buildings of the city sparkled with lights in the dark on the other side. His head fell back to the ground and he could see the stars nestled in the sky twinkling above him.

A few cicadas creaked in the tall grass around him, the only noise heard aside from the occasional odd sound coming from the city across the river.

Exhaling a breath he didn't know he was holding in, Minato momentarily forgot the impossible acts he had just committed. He forgot about the Sekirei Plan. He forgot how pathetic and useless he had felt before...

He forgot that he had just killed two people.

The chirping cicadas coaxed him to close his eyes, and his mind was peacefully enveloped into the night.

Minato shot up with a gasp, his eyes wild with confusion. Looking around, his mind felt relief at the familiar sight of his room.

He wiped the sheen of sweat that covered his head as his breath became more controlled. The visions in his head were still vivid.

He... he had actually killed someone! Two someones at that!

His shoulders slumped and he chuckled. Now he was having nightmares. Nightmares about killing people to make it worse. He was seriously starting to wonder if her was going off the deep end. The Sekirei plan had been no help. The sight of battle and people being hurt and even almost dying had taken its toll on his head it seemed.

Without the guidance of his mind, his hand gained intent of its own and drifted away from his body to come to rest on something beside him that was soft...

Very soft.

His body instantly tensed up, but for a whole different reason. Based on past experiences, he had dreadful, yes DREADFUL and no other adjective to describe it, idea of what he felt in his grip.

Looking down at his side he found the pillow-soft object in his hand to be... a pillow.

Minato had to blink to be sure he saw what he saw. He just now realized he was alone in this futon. That was quite a change. Tsukiumi and Musubi usually had him in what Tsukiumi had insisted to be a "loving embrace." (Minato called it a death grip, pointing to the red outlines on his neck as his proof.)

But this morning, he woke up alone.

He frowned and stared for a moment at the object still in his grip, almost disbelieving at what he saw. But sure enough, it was just his pillow. Although a moment ago, its soft and bouncy texture in his hand had let him to believe it to be a-

The alarm clock began blaring in his ear, making him literally jump out of the vision that had been forming in his head a moment ago. He moaned, now fully connected to the fact that he was awake, the headache forming from the blaring alarm giving full proof of that. Without looking, he reached his hand over to hit the snooze button...

And felt something slice his skin open.

He retracted his sharply with a yelp. He opened one of his eyes that had been squeezed shut. What had pricked his-?! Both his eyes opened in horror.

The meat of his palm was cut, and blood was pouring out. A lot of it.

"What the- ?!" His voice strained under the pain.

Looking for the culprit, his pain vanished immediately when he found it.

On his bed next to his alarm clock was a knife... A switch blade knife.

Minato's pupils immediately shrank to the size of pin heads. His bloodied hand trembled as it reached out, desperately hoping what he saw was an illusion.

His bloodied grip closed around the handle, and rough, cold sensation reverberated through his palm. Bringing it to his face, every detail of the blade was seared in his mind forever. The brown the grip, the long blade, and the dark-dried substance on it let him know that all the blood was not his. Some of it had been spilled the night before.

His nightmare flashed in his mind: Homura, the screaming girl, the blood of the first boy he cut, the cry of the second boy, he wanted revenge for his brother. Minato struck first. The blood of the second boy he spilled, Homura, the girl, Homura, the blood, the blood, the blood, the blood, the blood, bloodbloodbloodbloodbloodblo odbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodb loodbloodblood...

The alarm bell was screaming his ear. He was deaf by this point. His own blood made the blade slip out of his hand onto the floor.

Minato squeezed his eyes shut, gripped his wounded hand, and screamed.

Onii-chan was taking a long time to get up.

Ku-chan was sure he didn't want to miss breakfast. He always had breakfast with them before he left for work. Besides, Miya-nee-chan was having that strange mask appeared behind her head and pour her tea in rather scary manner after Matsu-nee-chan was snickering about Minato having a long night, to which Tsukiumi-nee-chan began getting that one vein bulge on her neck again. So Kusano decided it would be a good idea to go wake him up before things got any worse.

The sound of his alarm clock made Kusano giggle, thinking about how annoyed her big brother was probably getting. Then she began to run as she heard him screaming.

Despite her small size, Kusano could do some very strong, incredible things when she needed to. Nothing got her moving like the sound of her beloved big brother in pain.

Throwing opening the door, she immediately ran to the boy.

"Onii-chan! Why are you-?!"

Looking down, her eyes went wide at the sight of his hand.

Minato looked up, his shaky mind managing to focus and clear his vision at the sight of his youngest Sekirei.

"K-Ku..."

She was staring at his bleeding hand. She began to shake.

"W-Why..." Her eyes teared up. "Why are you bleeding... Onii-chan? So much..."

Looking down, the blood all but coated Minato's hand. It looked like carnage more than a cut by this point.

Her head began to shake, desperately wanting to deny what she saw. "Onii-chan is... h-hurt..."

Minato's eyes widened at the sound of her shaking voice. "N-No! Ku, I'm fi-"

"N-No... ONII-CHAN NOOOOO!" Kusano broke down, wailing uncontrollably.

Minato panicked, the sound of Kusano crying so terribly both terrified him and broke his heart.

The small girl threw herself at her Ashikabi, desperately gripping him as if he would leave. Minato wrapped his clean arm around, desperately sputtering out assurances that he was fine, none of which seemed to get through to the erratic Kusano.

"MINATO?!" Tsukiumi's commanding voice resounded through the room. Minato looked up to see her lay a hand on the still screeching alarm clock, finally silencing it. With that taken care of, the Water Sekirei looked down on the other two figures in the room.

"Just what was that scream?" She demanded of her husband. "You truly frightened me with-"

She turned her gaze to small girl crying into his shirt. "Kusano!" The blonde woman knelt. "What has you so-"

Her gaze immediately fell to his bloodied hand.

"H-Husband..." She reached out, gingerly taking his wounded hand into her own. "How..."

Her eyes now zeroed in on the bloody knife laying on the floor. It's menacing shape made clear his construction for fighting. And such thing had wounded her gentle, almost docile Ashikabi.

"Minato!" She looked him in the eyes, concern clearly painted on her face, but her firm voice demanding an answer. "What has happened here?!"

Homura was starting to feel like Minato's personal nurse. How many times had he bandaged him up by this point?

He paid little mind to Tsukiumi and Musubi who nervously stood in the doorway, watching with intensity he could feel. Making one more wrap around with the gauze, he tied it off over the wound.

"Thanks Kagari-san... again."

Homura looked up wordlessly. The other boy did not meet his gaze, keeping it trained on his half-mummified hand. Minato no doubt had more than a few questions for him, but no doubt he didn't want to answer the ones Homura had for him.

"Ladies!" Miya's sing-song voice broke the heavy atmosphere. "I need your help in the kitchen!"

Both girls stayed put, still eyeing Minato worryingly.

Their Ashikabi smiled. "It's alright. Go ahead."

Tsukiumi nodded hesitantly, then started off down the hall. Musubi stayed behind for a moment.

"Minato-san..."

His breath caught. Her eyes pierced him, searched him, looking for what he wasn't saying.

"Musubi!" Tsukiumi haughtily called.

The girl looked at Minato once more, paying little mind to his earnest smile and nod to assure her, and then ran after the other Sekirei.

Homura and Minato both sat silently in the room. Homura wasn't shy and kept his eyes trained on the silent boy sitting opposite him. Minato kept his own eyes trained on the floor.

"Minato..." the Homura began.

"I don't-" Minato began. Homura stayed silent, encouraging the other boy to speak.

"I... killed... them..." His voice was an audiable whisper.

Silence hung over them again.

"You saved us." Homura responded.

Minato looked up in shock, as if just now realizing why he had done what he had done in the first place.

"Her name is Yashima, the girl you saved I mean."

Minato's eyes widened. "Is she alright?!"

Homura was taken back a bit at Minato's sudden urgency. "Y-Yes. She's fine. I brought her back here, but she left this morning."

Minato stared for moment, then felt a weight leave his chest. She was alright... The girl he had tried to save... she was alright.

He actually smiled and put a hand to his chest, feeling the weight of guilt lift for a moment and his heart flutter a bit. Then he looked at Homura again.

The other man had a serious expression. Minato returned in kind.

"You are... one of them too? A Sekirei I mean," Minato's voice left little room for a question.

Homura looked a way.

"I remember what I saw Kagari-san," Minato's voice slowly gained confidence. "You were there that night. I saw... fire coming from your hand."

Homura exhailed. "My real name is Homura. And yes Sahashi, like you said," He looked the boy in the eye. "I am a Sekirei."

Minato swallowed. Kaga- Homura-san (as his real name apparently was) had always been a little off. He mostly kept to himself, and while that was no crime, it made Minato wonder what he did all the time. Being a host ate up a lot of time, but was that really what he did all day?

"What you saw last night Sahashi, was me doing my other job."

The ronin's eye quirked. "Other job?"

"I've taken the role of a Sekirei guardian."

Minato suddenly remembered the girl's cry last night, calling Homura a 'Sekirei Guardian.'

"I protect unwinged Sekirei," Homura explained, evidently reading the question written on Minato's face. "Those, who have yet to meet their Ashikabi. Last night, I was protecting that girl from those men who were trying to force-wing her."

Minato recalled something about "whether we choose or not," being part of Matsu's explanation. He had never really delved into what that might entail. Now it was becoming all too clear.

"Some Sekirei, Minato... are enslaved."

The word made the ronin visibly twitch. Homura continued.

"They are taken by men who are not their destined ones. These Sekirei have a miserable existence Sahashi. They fight for those who have robbed them of happiness. And the only way they will ever be free of them, is to be defeated... terminated."

He paused and watched the kneeling ronin, letting his words sink in, observing the boy's reaction.

"So that's why I do what I do. I try to help those Sekirei find the one they are destined to be with. But even then..." his eyes look down. "They are still forced to fight."

Homura paused for moment, his own anger catching up. Minato stared intently at the Sekirei sitting across from him.

Homura cocked his head. Normally, from what he had seen of the boy, Minato was somewhat of an airhead, not always comprehending on what happened around him. Sure the boy was intelligent, of that he certainly had an instinct. But his lack of confidence gave off an air of aloofness. But right now, Minato seemed to be taking in every word he told him.

"Whether I save them or not, and sometimes I don't save them from forced winging..." Homura grimaced, seeming to recall such moments. "They all still fight Sahashi. That is what the Sekirei must do in this plan."

He paused once more before speaking again.

"Your turn now."

Minato blinked. "W-What?"

Homura's eyes narrowed, as if annoyed with Minato's perceived stalling. "Why were you there last night Sahashi? Why did you... do what you did?"

Minato swallowed again.

"As I said, you saved us last night Sahashi. Had it not been for you, I would have lost my freedom. So..." Homura bowed his head. "Thank you."

"Kaga... Homura-san..."

"But Sahashi..." Homura raised his head again. "What you did... I never would have thought you capable of..."

Minato felt the color drain from his face. The shame of it zapping his confidence away. His sin, laid bare for judgement...

"Minato... what happened? You've been different since the night you helped those two escape. What... happened?"

Minato closed his eyes and exhailed. "She... died..." The words nearly made him choke.

Homura's eyes widened. "Died? Who-"

"Musubi!" Minato almost shouted. "She... was killed... and I... didn't do anything..." The words didn't bring tears to his eyes this shock had worn off, but not the bitter feelings that accompanied it.

"It all felt so... real then..." Homura listened intently as Minato continued. The boy's hands fisted in his lap. "I knew then... I could lose her. I could lose all of them..."

He looked up at Homura. "I know... now..." He seemed lost for words.

Homura smiled sadly. "You know now what everyone fears: to lose who they love."

The white-haired sekirei sighed an stood up, seeming tired of the depressing conversation. He wasn't quite clear on the details about Musubi "dieing," but he had good idea of what it meant. he'd get the details from Matsu later. He walked to the door. "Breakfast should be ready."

The young Ashikabi began to stand up to follow.

"Minato," His firm voice stopped the boy briefly. "I won't say anything about what i saw last night. But in return, I ask that you don't say anything about me being a Sekirei."

"O-of course, yeah."

Homura paused for a moment. "...alright."

And with that, he left the room.

Minato poked his head into the living room. Kusano was sitting alone on the couch. She seemed to have calmed down now. "Nyan the Cat" seemed to be doing his part on tv, getting a laugh out of the small sekirei every now and then.

"H-Hi Kuu..." Minato nervously called.

She whipped her head around, and her eyes widened immediately at seeing who it was.

"Oni-chan!" She leapt off the couch and immediately ran to him, throwing herself into him. The hit made Minato grunt and chuckle at the same time, bringing his arms around her.

She looked up at him, the worry already returning to her eyes. Pulling on his hand that wasn't bandaged. she pulled him to the couch.

"H-Hey! Ku-?" The little girl ignored her Ashikabi's confusion and pushed him down onto the couch. She leaped onto his lap and pulled his wounded hand to her face for closer inspection. Minato smiled sadly at her worried expression as she looked over his bandage intensely.

He brought his free hand up to the back of her head and gently pet her.

"It's alright Ku-chan," he softly cooed. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Hope sparkled in her eyes. "Really?"

Her cute voice was enough to melt him. "Yeah... really..."

She smiled. "Good then." She then lay her head against him closed her eyes, breathing slower and nodding off to sleep.

Minato continued to gently pet her head. "Sorry I scared you..."

"Mmmmm." Kusano shook her head. "It's okay, Oni-chan."

And with that, she had fallen asleep.

Minato smiled, gently stroking Ku's hair as she softly breathed, lying against him.

"Minato-san?"

The boy turned his head around to find his landlady standing beside him. "Would you care to join me for tea?"

Minato smiled, accepting the offer.

The soft wind brushing the wind chimes and the clear night with a melody of cicadas chirping gave a deceptive sense of tranquility. No one would ever have guessed there was a war happening in this city from the looks on the surface. But Minato still bought into the tranquility, almost forgetting his actions the previous night completely, along with the anguish in his mind over the events that he experienced since moving to the city.

He slowly sipped the oolong Miya had prepared for them. He regarded her from his peripheral vision. She said nothing. Her eyes were closed and a small smile adorned her face. She seemed lost in the peace of the moment.

This was something new. They were on good terms sure, but she and he had never really spent much time alone. So why had she called him out like this? She'd never-

"Minato-kun," her voice interrupted his thoughts. She opened her eyes and caught his with her own.

The look she held was gentle, but an amount of concern was detected in it. Something... motherly almost.

Minato found himself blushing at being caught her gaze. He had never really appreciated just how beautiful she really was...

"Is everything alright?"

Minato's face nearly exploded in red. "Y-Yes! Everything's fine! I-I just- I didn't mean to-"

"Minato," her firm voice stopped his sputtering. It wasn't harsh, but it was clearly a command to listen. "Are you doing alright?"

The question threw him off. That was one he hadn't asked himself recently.

Was he alright?

"Um..." He didn't really have an answer.

"Minato, I understand that you've been through a lot lately... with the Sekirei Plan."

She turned on her knees to face him fully. "Matsu told me the details of what happened that night on the bridge..."

Minato looked away.

"Where did you get this Minato?" From the sleeve of her kimono, Miya produced the switchblade knife that had killed two men and cut Minato's hand, now cleaned and shining in the light coming from the house behind them.

Minato looked at the knife, then back up at her. Fear muted him.

Miya was patient, looking Minato right in the eye.

"M-Miya..." His voiced came out strained. "This isn't..." What could he say...

"I won't ask too many questions Minato. You're life is your own."

She smoothed out her dress as she stood. "But I can imagine seeing what you did that night would have quite the impact on you."

Looking up at the woman, Minato was effectively silenced by what couldn't be described as anything but sadness in her eyes. She knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Minato... I know what it is like to lose someone you love..." Her grip on his shoulder tensed slightly. "I know that seeing something like that could drive you to do something... Desperate."

She looked back at the knife on the ground, then at him again. "I just ask that you give consideration to what you do next Minato. And just... Be careful."

She stood up again, releasing his shoulder and wordlessly returned I side, leaving Minato alone on the deck.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms in front of him. Miya had read him perfectly. At least his situation. How much she really knew he couldn't say.

She was right about one thing: a desperate situation had driven him to a desperate decision. Homura had been right too, what he had done had saved him and that girl.

What he had done had been right… And necessary… And wrong…

And he could tell no one.

_Wake up._

Minato obeyed the voice in his mind. He recognized it. He had heard it before...

His eyes opened. He was still out on the deck. The sky was still dark. Standing up, he returned inside the house.

He smiled at the sight of Kusano still asleep on the couch, softly breathing and clutching the pillow, probably thinking it was her Oni-chan.

The moment he had stepped into the living room however, the lights shorted out. He looked up in surprise. Had the lights shorted out? Light from outside still filtered thought the windows, so he could still see somewhat.

What he could see made his heart leap into his throat.

Where Kusano had been laying just a moment ago, now only her blanket an pillow remained. The little sekirei was no where to be found.

The second the lights had gone... So had she.

Minato's breath hitched. He was by no means brave, but it had been years since he was afraid of the dark.

"Calm down..." He whispered to himself. "Let's just go to bed."

He slowly, quietly made his way across the living room, refusing to look at the couch and abandoned pillow and blanket that he SWORE just a second ago had Kusano snuggled up with it.

The door to the deck. He softly cursed himself. He'd forgotten to close it.

He turned around just in time.

Against the light from outside, a figure was clearly visible, walking down the hallway with a shadow cascading across the floor of the living room. Minato had just seen it just before it disappeared out of sight.

His breath was shallow. It was clearly masculine shaped.

"H-Homura?..."

No one answered. Only silence.

Minato ran a hand though his hair. He was seeing things... Yes...

Even slower than the first time, he shuffled back across the living room toward the deck. He stopped at the hallway, looking down it for the figure he saw.

Pitch blackness was all he could see. And he had no desire to venture down the foreboding hall. He closed the door and latched it.

Turning around, he started back toward the stairs, but stopped cold at seeing the floor.

A long shadow starting from behind him... Someone was behind him, on the other side of the glass door. He grit teeth, and whipped around.

Nothing. Only the empty yard.

Looking back down at the floor, the shadow was gone.

He exhaled, frustrated with the games his mind was playing on him. This time he moved with a sense of purpose, making it through the living room to the stairs. He stopped at the foot of it.

His head... hurt.

Gripping the hand rail with one hand, is other hand held his head as he began to ascend staircase. With each step it felt like his skull got heavier. He's ears began to ring.

He tightened his grip on the rail, his feet were getting harder and harder to lift. The ringing grew deafening.

"What in-?!"

He looked up at the few steps he still had to climb. Looking back at him from the top of the staircase, was the figure that he thought was in his head.

With the screen, he fell backwards, tumbling down the stairs and landing at the bottom on his back his head banging against the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut and his hands covered his face. Terror and pain made it impossible to focus at all.

His arms then became like lead and fell from his face to his sides. His whole body felt like lead. He couldn't move.

Immobilized, Minato opened his eyes and looked up. From the top of the staircase, the shadowy figure stared back at him, and began to slowly descend…

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p> 


	3. Huntered

03 - Hunter/ed

The falling rain had washed away most of the blood by now. But the looks of fear and pain were still burned into the faces of the two corpses at her feet...

Sekirei number 55, or Saki as she preferred to be called, knelt beside one of the two dead men, taking a close looker at the deep slice across his throat. Her teeth clenched at the sight of it. The kill was so... messy. Sloppy even...

"Ma'am?"

Saki pushed her hands against her knees, regaining her stance.

"Find them?" She asked.

"We did," the young man affirmed. He held out a computer tablet for proof.

She offered the young man a sweet smile in appreciation as she took it from her hands. "Arigatou, Minase-kun." She specifically emphasized the honorific.

The young man's face lit up red like a traffic light. Excusing himself with stammer, he quickly hustled away. He passed by an older officer, who gave a disapproving glare at the sight of his goofy grin.

Saki was slender with shoulder-length blue hair. Her clothing was black, from her top that showed off her midriff to her skirt and leg-long stockings. She had body that guys were hypnotized by, and she wasn't afraid to use that power.

She giggled once more at the young officer Minase-kun who was vulnerable to such power. If only it worked on the older one coming towards her.

The older man, half way through his fifties, made his way over to the Sekirei, his frown lightening into mild annoyance.

"Not feeling jealous, are you Ryota-san," Saki asked with a playful smile. The man's stone face did not flinch at all.

"Brothers Yosuke Tachibana and Ryunosuke Tachibana..." The senior MBI security officer went straight to business, not even dignifying Saki's flirting with a response. He glanced over at the taller of the two corpses.

Saki frowned. The old salt of a cop was no fun at all. "I know," she replied, her eyes falling back on the tablet in her hands.

"One was an Ashikabi, the other wasn't. Both have a record. The younger for robbery, the older for two assaults."

He watched the Sekirei girl for a reaction. When she didn't look up from the tablet, he continued.

"I don't need to tell you this a big problem." Ryota's eyes narrowed at the sight of the two corpses.

"This whole... plan was supposed to keep humans OUT of harm's way. Two of them killed by a Sekirei-"

"A Sekirei didn't do this," Saki interrupted the long speech she knew was coming.

The officer quirked an eyebrow. "How can you-"

"The cuts," She motioned behind her at the dead bodies, kneeling beside them again and gesturing at the gruesome damages for emphasis. "A Sekirei would never do such a sloppy job."

"Besides," she turned around, locking eyes with the officer. "A Sekirei would never kill a human."

Ryota didn't look convinced in the slightest. "Then why did Minaka send his spymaster to look into it?"

"Because an Ashikabi is dead," she reminded him. "That isn't supposed to happen."

Ryota pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan and looked up at the dismal grey, cloudy sky. "If word ever got out about it-"

"It won't," she assured. "This was a murder. Plain and simple."

Both of them were distracted by the sound of car pulling up along side the curb down the hill.

"Your ride I take it?" Ryota inquired.

Saki rose to her feed with a word and began making her way for the black car, the grass crunching under feet.

At the sound, she paused, and immediately cursed herself for it. Ryota caught the action.

Looking down, Saki saw the grass beneath her feet was charred black by fire. She had definitely not seen that before. She closed her eyes, feeling Ryota's own look down at the spot beneath her feet, and then traveling up to glare at her. Without even looking, Saki could feel his eyes piercing her back.

Grass did not just catch fire. A Sekirei had been here...

"Ryota-"

The damage was done. The old cop was already storming off. She could just imagine the scowl on his face.

"God-damned monsters..." He snarled.

* * *

><p>Saki pursed her lips but said nothing. It wouldn't do any good. She'd learned that by now.<p>

Takami offered the wet girl a towel as Saki stepped out of the rain and into the back of the black American-built Cadillac. The car immediately drove off the second the door shut.

"Was that Ryota I saw?" MBI's top researcher inquired.

"Yes," Saki replied with sigh.

Takami looked out the window in thought. "Still not friendly?"

Saki said nothing in response as she dried herself.

Takami sighed. "The man is good at his job. He was one of the best Tokyo Metropolitan ever produced." She lit a cigarette as she continued. "Unfortunately he's more than a tad racist when it comes to the Sekirei."

"He sees us as invaders," the Sekirei girl said. "We took away his city. And he sees us as a threat to the citizens he protects..." She trailed off, looking out into the night through the rain splattered window of the moving car.

A moment of silence passed before the doctor spoke again. "What did you find out?"

"The two boys were not killed by a Sekirei." By this point, Saki had lost count of the number of times she had said that. "The kill strikes were not professional. Whoever did kill them was... desperate."

"Suspects?" Takami inquired.

"No weapon, no witnesses, and MBI's surveillance cameras don't reach the park."

Takami took a long puff from her Marlboro. "Sounds like it was well executed. Good place, good time-"

"Bad luck," the girl countered. "Like I said, the kill was too sloppy to be professional. I believe it was the boys who picked that spot, not the one who killed them."

"Come again?" The doctor asked.

"Ryota said they both had criminal records. One of them was for "assault"..."

Neither said anything. They both knew what was implied.

"But their bodies were the only ones there," Saki asserted again. "If they did have a girl... she got away."

"Was he trying to help her?" Takumi referred to the killer.

"I don't know... maybe..." the Sekirei pondered.

"So we do have a witness then," Takumi assumed.

"More than one," Saki corrected. "I also found scorch marks at the crime scene."

The cigarette dropped from Takumi's mouth. She cursed as it singed her pants. She quickly snatched it up and threw it out the window. Saki said nothing the whole while.

"I'm guessing you know it was," the Sekirei sarcastically remarked.

"The other girl must have been a Sekirei," the doctor remarked mostly to herself.

Saki frowned, not liking the redirect. "Is there something I need to know?"

"Homura would be there if a Sekirei was in danger." She hit her pack of Marlboros against her palm, popping up a fresh stick and grabbing it with her lips. "If he ever did kill someone, he wouldn't be so sloppy."

She looked the younger woman in the eye as she brought her lighter to the tip of her cigarette.

"He wouldn't leave a body..." With a flick of her thumb, a flame burst to life.

Saki eyed the flame thinking over the burned patch marks she had found at the site and the discussed Sekirei's special ability. "But he was there."

Both women eyed each other for a moment. Saki knew about Homura, and what Takumi was having him do. This accounted for why she was protective of him. But...

"It'd be nice to talk to him if I could..." Saki attempted.

Takumi's one good eye narrowed. "I'll handle Homura. You handle Minaka."

The car rolled to a stop. Saki looked out the window at monolithic building which served as the headquarters of the said man's empire. She stepped out of the car and looked up at the monolithic castle, illuminated against the rainy night like a star on Earth.

"Tell him only as much as he needs to hear," Takumi advised the Sekirei. "Chances are, he already knows more than you think."

* * *

><p>As far as relationships went, the one between Sekirei number 55 Saki and MBI President Hiroto Minaka was tolerable in Saki's own words.<p>

As his personal intelligence operative, the relationship they had was no where near that of an Ashikabi and Sekirei. Saki would not even entertain that notion. The Ashikabi was someone special to a Sekirei. She held a fist over her heart as her mind whispered the title. A brief flutter in her heart was followed by a descent into loneliness, a sensation she had grown accustomed to by now. Still, she wondered if... but DEFINITELY not with Minaka. No, they were simply boss and employee as far as she was concerned. And even that was... strained.

The reason for that strain was creeping up behind her. The pulsing vein on her forehead flexed as she threw her elbow back right into the face of the man who was attempting grope her. Minaka's glasses shattered upon impact, and his whole face caved in at the girl's powerful strike.

"G...Good evening... S-Saki-chan..." Minaka mumbled between rattled teeth and Saki's elbow nearly shattering them.

Slowly retracting her limb, Minaka fell to the ground in heap.

"Minaka-sama," she politely replied and bowed to the pathetic crumbled form of her superior behind her.

Looking forward again, she gasped at the appearence of a massive flat-screen lowered from the ceiling of Minaka's ridiculously tall office. The IMAX like screen hung from the three story tall ceiling above them. It displayed an over-shot of the crime scene from which she had just come.

_"He knows more than you think..."_ Takumi's words echoed in her mind.

"Tell me," Minaka had regained computes and was returning to his desk beneath the monolithic screen. "Just what have you learned?"

The Sekirei spy took a breath before repeating her report a second time. Minaka watched intently as she spoke. Saki didn't so much as falter as she finished her explanation, stopping short of detailing the burn marks she had found on the grass. To date, she had never detailed Homura's activity to Minaka at Takumi's insistence. It was a delicate balancing act she performed; one that she hoped would not end with crashing down on her head.

"Interesting..." Minaka remarked. "But you found... Nothing else?"

The scorch marks on the grass were at the forefront of her mind. She could almost feel them burning through as she lied through her teeth.

"Nothing."

The corporate president merely eyed her for a moment, grinning.

"Very well, that will be all then."

The girl turned to go, but was careful not hurry out of the office.

"Saki." His command stopped her cold her tracks and she shivered involuntarily.

"Would you be free this weekend for a night you will never forget with the the greatest genius in all the universe?!" Minaka dramatically played up the biggest Casanova voice he could muster.

It took all of Saki's strength not to keel over from her stomach fighting to throw up everything she had ingested over the past week from just hearing the request.

"I-I'm terribly sorry sir. But this investigation will leave me not much free time."

And with that she hurried out of the room, not even glancing back to see Minaka's pouting face and fisted hands on his desk, looking more like a spoiled brat than the CEO of the most powerful company in Japan.

When the doors had closed behind the Sekirei, Minaka allowed the facade to drop from his face, and his dark smile returned.

"For a spy," he said to no one in the empty room. "You're a pretty bad liar."

* * *

><p>Minato could do nothing but stare as the figure came down the stairs. It moved slowly, each step reverberating so hard the boy felt his spine rattle. He felt cold sweat run down his forehead and neck.<p>

The figure now stood directly over him. Minato could at least get a better look at him now. With a masculine build, the figure was clocked with a heavy coat, a hood covering his face. It knelt down over him bring them almost face to face. Minato's head was throbbing, and the ringing in his ears was unbearable.

The figure leaned in close. Fighting the terror that Minato knew was going overtake him soon, he tried to see what was hidden behind through the darkness of the hood and get a look at the face.

He regretted it.

Something sinister looked back at him. Minato almost had mistaken it for a skull, but it was a metal impersonation. The teeth looked sinister, permanently gnashed together, but looked as it they might open to take bite. Nothing but empty eye sockets stared back at him. The masked face drew close, and Minato felt his soul be sucked in by those "eyes". Red embers were pulsating to life in those obscenely huge sockets, and it was then Minato got a better look:

The face was a metal mask. The closer it leaned in, the better look he got. The "eyes" turned out not to be so empty. Inside them, strange machina adjusted, as if bringing him into better focus. Minato didn't dare imagine what may lay behind it.

Then the ringing in his ears stopped.

Nothing existed for a moment but his and the masked figure crouched over him.

"Minato." It spoke to him.

* * *

><p><em>Wake up.<em>

And the words made him do just that. His eyes opened. He could feel his arms and legs. Command over his body had returned to him. He sat up instantly and frantically looked around. He was in his room and light was shining through the window, accompanied by the chirps of birds. Never before had he been so relieved to hear that sound, which normally annoyed him as it usually woke him up early.

Again, he looked around. There was no sign of the ghost.

He exhaled loudly. Another nightmare.

"Onii-chan?"

But at least this time he didn't wake up alone. He looked down to see a worried looking Kusano sitting on his stomach.

"Hey Ku-chan," he smiled. Looking around, it was clear the nightmare had ended.

Sunlight shown through the window, and life had returned to the Inn. He could hear Miya humming on the kitchen, and little Ku was still perched on his lap, her worried face still waiting for an answer.

He kept up his smile for the little Sekirei's sake. "It's alright Ku. Just a nightmare."

"Onii-chan has had a lot of nightmares lately." She worried.

He smiled as he eased off of him. "Don't worry they can't hurt you."

The child looked down at the bear she had held in her arms. "Kuu is not so sure..." She murmured to herself.

Minato raised an eyebrow in question, but was called before he could say anything.

"Mina-tan!" Matsu's voice called.

The Ashikabi turned around to where he thought he heard it, but saw only an empty hallway.

"Matsu?"

"Up here!"

Minato's jaw dropped and he gagged in surprise at seeing the girl's head and torso hanging upside down from a trapdoor in the ceiling. The girl's face was totally calm as if her actions were totally normal. Sadly, in the case of Matsu, they were.

"You need to see this!" She exclaimed.

* * *

><p>Both sets of eyes were glued to the main screen of Matsu's computer in her dark, cramped room. He was seriously starting to sweat, and not from the claustrophobic quarters.<p>

On the screen, a Sekirei had confirmed to be terminated. She had long brown hair, wide and wide green eyes with a slight look of sadness despite the smile she put on. She used a bow staff as her weapon. She had never terminated another Sekirei.

Her name was Chiyo.

"Type-4 termination" was typed in large print next to the female Sekirei's picture.

But what made Minato sweat was Matsu's explanation:

"Her Ashikabi is dead."

And he had a bad feeling about who had done it. Minato was no actor, but he put on the best look of surprise he could. "W-What?"

The Sekirei nodded grimly. "A Type-4 termination occurs when a Sekirei's Ashikabi has been killed."

"Apparently," she continued as her fingers clacked away on the keyboard, "it happened just recently too."

Her face twisted into a frown with growl as her computer chirped a disapproving sound.

"What's wrong?" Minato asked.

"For some reason," she sounded obviously frustrated. "I can't look at the file! They've rigged it with a kind of tripwire!"

"You can't hack the security?" Minato's was surprised to hear that something sounded impenetrable to the great computer-whiz Matsu.

"Of course I could!" She exclaimed, sounding almost insulted. "But if I did, they would trace it right back to Maison Izumo."

She rested her chin on her hand for a moment, trying to think, then started typing again. "For some reason, they've put serious security around the police reports. They don't seem to want anyone to find out about what they've found." She grunted again as the computer repeated its loud rejection at whatever trick she had just tried.

"So, we can't find out what happened?" Minato asked.

"Well," Matsu offered. "I can at least see who her Ashikabi was."

What Minato dreaded was confirmed with another ensemble of clicks and clacks from her keyboard.

Up on the screen was the face of the man he had killed just last night.

"Ryunosuke Tachibana," And now he had a name.

"Seems..oh."

"What's wrong Matsu?" Minato asked.

"It seems..." She explained with a frown and narrowed eyes. "He wasn't supposed to be that Sekirei's Ashikabi."

Minato raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Minato..." Her eyes met his as she fixed her glasses with her middle finger. "That girl was winged by force."

Minato's heart skipped a best, recalling Homura's explanation of "force-wing."

_"Some Sekirei Minato... Are enslaved."_

He brought a fist under nose, the explanation making his brain run at ridiculous speeds. This girl on the screen had been... (the word felt dirty and forbidden)... enslaved.

"Minato?"

"Huh?" Minato's head jerked back to the girl, who seemed to be waiting for a reaction.

For once, his high intelligence came through for him when he needed.

"So she... Could she have done it?"

Yes! Motive, certainly capable, she could easily be blamed for the man's murder, as underhanded as it was.

"No." Or not, according to Matsu.

"One would think, but Sekireis never strike down their Ashikabi. Even if they're Ashikabi is not their destined one, they're still loyal."

Minato could think if nothing to say, so he crossed his arms over his chest.

His behavior was telling to Matsu. She could see the explanation was making her own Ashikabi uncomfortable. She had enough to make the concept clear, so he switched subjects.

"This is big Minato," her attention turning back to the screen. "An Ashikabi dying is a big deal. MBI will be all over this."

Minato exhaled loudly. "Great."

* * *

><p>Whenever Homura stepped into a club, people took notice. It was evident with the women practically falling all over him.<p>

"Kagari love!" One called.

"Megumi," he cordially replied with his lady-killer smile. She nearly fainted.

Megumi was one of his regular clients, as were most of the other women in the room.

Others called for him, and replied in kind to each of them. His business required etiquette at its finest.

"Popular as always. No wonder I can't get a night with you."

Homura turned towards the voice. His eyes widened when he saw the owner.

"Saki..." He was genuinely surprised.

The young woman stood before him in a small black dress, hanging from her neck and zipped up in back. Black high-heels and matching long black gloves complemented her attire. But his eyes were fixed on her face. Her deep blue eyes, matching her hair and earrings, and her lips painted with scarlet lipstick would catch any man of guard. Were he not so well versed in the art of seduction himself, he might have carelessly fallen for her as well.

Without looking, he could feel the stabs of jealousy from the other women in the club. Saki was drop-dead gorgeous, and everyone in the room knew it. The competition was especially evident by the female variety.

Suddenly Homura didn't feel so safe between Saki and every other woman in the club.

"And what has brought you here this evening, _mon cheri_? He asked with his signature smile and smooth jazz-quality voice. "And alone none-the-less... For a beautiful woman to be by herself is criminal."

She grinned and eyelids lowered as she leaned forward. "Perhaps you should arrest me," whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. He'd always known she was quick on her feet, but to see her in action really was... Impressive.

"I thought that was your job," he countered.

She raised an eyebrow and her smile faltered. Homura knew he was flirting with the line in the sand: never discuss their private lives. Still, she recovered.

"As much as I love the idea of putting you in handcuffs, I'll settle for your company for the night."

He sweat-dropped as she lead him away from the seething women who he knew at heard that last little quip. No doubt punishment for his flirt with danger.

* * *

><p>The live saxophone in the background helped Homura's tension. Saki was not a Sekirei to take lightly.<p>

As MBI's top spy, she had Minaka's ear. Anything she got out of him would go straight to the madman's desk. Takumi could only protect him to a point.

Across from him she stirred her drink, half-lidded eyes staring at him with a limitations grin.

She didn't intimidate him. He was too familiar with this dance to be caught flat-footed.

"I am curious as to what brought you out tonight, Saki." He ventured. "You normally don't go for the social scene."

She stopped stirring her drink.

"I told you," she answered. "I was hoping to see you."

"Oh?"

"An Ashikabi was murdered last night."

Homura made no show of surprise. It would do no good. Saki's business was information.

"I know." He answered with a straight face.

Saki was genuinely surprised. She'd thought he would at least try to lie his way out of it.

The male Sekirei smiled. "Not much happens in this city that I don't hear about Saki."

"Or see for yourself," she countered with a frown.

Homura carefully paused before asking: "I beg your pardon?"

"You left your calling card, Kagari." The girl emphasized that alias as she waved her hand over the flame, hinting at what she meant.

He inwardly cursed, scolding himself for being so careless. He must have left a burnt mark from the battle somewhere around the park. Of course most wouldn't have thought to look for that, but this was Saki he was talking about.

"Homura," she began carefully, both of her hands wrapped around her drink as she stared down into the red concoction that was her vodka cranberry, as if collecting her thoughts and focusing them before looking up.

"Two humans are dead. One is-was an Ashikabi. That isn't supposed to happen."

Homura's eyes narrowed. "And you think I had something to do with it?"

The girl thought carefully before answering. "No."

The man sitting across from her nodded with satisfaction, then took a sip of his drink.

"But I know you were there. You know what happened."

His eyes narrowed. "You're right, I do know what happened."

He leaned forward across the table. "Two arrogant bastards tried to force a girl under their control. I came there to stop it, but was almost was forced myself."

He let the words sink in for a moment. The uncomfortable look on her face told them they had.

But it wasn't enough to dissuade her.

"How did they end up dead?"

"Someone killed them," he answered bluntly.

"Who?" She demanded.

He said nothing, his eyes wandering to the side as he pondered the question.

She waited expectantly, then he looked her in the eye.

"I honestly don't know."

She read his face. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

Saki sighed. It was never straightforward. Never with him.

Homura gave a sad smile, sensing she had given up.

"Don't work too hard Saki," said as he stood to go.

"What?" She lamented coyly. "No dance."

Homura chuckled. "Maybe on the next date."

* * *

><p>Minato was walking the street alone with his thoughts. When did he start thinking about it all this much?<p>

Force-winging, termination, all the misery the Sekirei Plan brought.

For the longest time, Minato's mind had been aloof with the realities of the Plan. The strength his Sekirei had shown made it all seem so faraway. He had never thought of the problems being his own.

Until Musubi almost died that is.

"Minato?"

As if his thoughts could summon her...

Sure enough, looking up, there the girl stood on the rooftops, the moonlight illuminating her. Just one look at her smile, and all his fears seemed to melt away.

But her eyes told him not all was well. She jumped down to his side.

"Hey," she gently took his hand as she softly spoke. "Let's walk together, okay?"

* * *

><p>The two walked in an uncomfortable silence. At least, it was uncomfortable for Minato.<p>

It must have been evident.

"Minato..."

The boy jerked his head at the mention of his name. "Y-Yes?" He was never good at keeping secrets.

The girl smiled sadly. "Are you okay?"

He looked away. "Um..."

She waited patiently as they continued walking down the street.

"I guess I've been acting strange, huh?" Minato admitted with a nervous laugh.

He looked down, his smile vanishing. "I suppose... after what happened on the bridge I..."

His eyes screwed shut with frustration. "I JUST-!"

A hand gently touched his arm. "Minato."

He looked up to a gentle smile on Musubi's face. "I know this all seems dangerous, but remember:"

Her confident smile returned as she pumped her fist for effect. "I promise to protect you, and I will win-"

"But that's just it!" He pulled away, shocking the Sekirei.

"How many battles will we have to go through?! How many other Sekirei will you defeat?"

Musubi reached out to him again, this time not as confident. "Minato...?"

His mind flashed back to watch her fall to the Discipline Squad, then to the girl who was almost force-winged.

"I almost lost you Musubi..." His voice dropped low and soft, his fists clenched at his sides. "Now... Will we make someone else live through that agony?"

"Minato..." Musubi' face showed sadness and even regret and... Wait a minute.

Minato's eyes widened for a second, then narrowed. Something was wrong.

"Minato, this plan..." Her voice was different.

This wasn't Musubi he was talking too.

Looking into her eyes, he saw something else besides the cheery girl he loved. These eyes were experienced... older.

"This plan is cruel. Making us all fight one another," the deeper voice spoke.

Minato had heard this voice before, at the bridge when Musubi had... died. The voice had taken her body over, and defeated the Discipline Squad without bead of sweat.

"T-then... Why do it?" The boy asked.

The girl held a fist over her heart. "It is destiny," she answered. "It is the battle we Sekirei must undertake for the ones we love."

"But I promise you Minato," the girl's smile returned. "When the battle is won, I will release all those birds who's wings have been clipped. They will fly in the sky once more."

_Liar._

Minato gripped his head. A sudden pound blurred his vision for a moment.

"Minato?" The girl masquerading as Musubi stepped forward, concerned.

_"You know it... This woman is lying to you."_

Minato looked up with one eye open. Suddenly both shot open.

Behind "Musubi"... There he was. The one from his dreams. Minato forced himself to focus as he got a better look at the figure.

He was draped in same heavy coat with a hood, which turned out to be green. From underneath the hood he saw those same damned red eyes. While he couldn't see it, he knew the same horrible metal mask was underneath. Black pants clothed the things legs, and on its feet were black boots.

It stood right behind his Sekirei. One of its arms drew up, showing its hand to be wearing a glove and holding something.

"Oh God..." He whispered.

The knife. The one he'd had.

"Minato?" The fake Musubi repeated. "Are you okay."

She stepped forward with her hand out, but came no closer.

Behind her, the ghost of a figure drew its hand behind the girl's neck and brought it around to her front, holding the blade right to her throat.

"Musubi" made no acknowledgement, like he wasn't even there. Was he?

Both stared at Minato, waiting.

His head continued to pound as Minato stared back.

His ears rang.

"Who... Are you?" He wasn't sure which one he was asking.

* * *

><p>That's when his phone rang.<p>

Minato's eyes snapped shut and then opened again, jerked out of the weird limbo.

"Minato?" Musubi...

He looked up. She had returned. The strange persona, voice and all, that had possessed her, was gone, and so was the the masked man in the coat.

He grabbed at the insisting phone.

"H-Hello?"

"Minato!" A song-song voice chirped back.

"O-oh! Miya-dono! What's up?" She couldn't have called at a better time.

"You've been gone for awhile. I was beginning to worry."

Minato checked his phone for the time. A full hour had passed. He knew he had left the inn no longer than twenty minutes ago.

"What the..." He murmured aloud.

"I hope you and Musubi are not out doing anything inappropriate..." Her deceptively sweet voice sang. Behind him, Minato knew a certain mask of terror had emerged.

"N-Not at all!" He quickly insisted.

"Well... If you say so." Miya relented with a giggle. "I could use Musubi's help with moving a bag of rice. A certain good-for-nothing scum has come to borrow food again."

"Seo..." Minato tiredly mumbled aloud to himself.

"How did you know?" Miya asked facetiously.

"U-um, were on our way." Minato said as he hung up.

He looked up again at his Sekirei. "Looks like Miya needs our help." He explained as he scratched of his head nervously.

She giggled. "Alright, I'll head back first then."

Before jumping off into the night, she stopped and turned back to her Ashikabi.

"Um... Minato?"

"Yeah?" The boy answered.

"Um..." She put a finger to her chin as she thought out loud. "Was there something I wasted to tell you?"

A moment silence passed before Minato answered. "Must not have been important," he chuckled.

"Guess not," she shrugged an apology and jumped off in the direction of home.

* * *

><p>Minato watched her go for a moment before starting to follow.<p>

He didn't get to take a single step before stopping cold as he looked to the end of the street.

There the man in the coat stood once more, red eyes piercing right through Minato's own.

"Y-you..."

The man simply stared back. Not moving.

Was he really there?

Minato pinched himself to be sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't.

The man continued to stare.

Taking a deep breath, Minato bypassed every fiber of his being screaming at him to run away, and instead walked towards the phantom.

His steps were slow, but despite every bit closer Minato got, the other man did not so much as flinch. It just stayed in place, squared off to him.

When he was within arms-length, curiosity just barely trumped fear as Minato reached out to touch the man's coat.

But the man raised his own, causing Minato to jerk back in alarm.

His head turned, following his pointing hand, looking out to the city beyond.

Minato followed his gaze. The two of them were staring out at the city lighted against the night and the wide river then separate it from the rest of the world.

It was clear what the man was pointing at.

The bridge... That damned bridge, now cut in half.

* * *

><p>Only a yellow tape, no guards, had pathetically tried to block any trespassing. Minato stood alone on the dark bridge.<p>

The damage of the battle was still clear to see. The bridge was still plainly split in half, it's support structures still twisted and wrecked by Tsukiumi's power.

He looked out to other side, where he and his Sekirei had managed to ferry Kuno and Haruka to safety.

Finally, he walked up to the modest crater pounded into the pavement.

The spot where she'd died. The spot she had left him.

His shoulders shook and he bit hit lip. Even now... It still hurt to remember.

A cold wind bit at the nape of his neck. Covering it with his hand, he turned around...

And faced the man in the mask.

"You-"

The figure lunged at him, hands reaching for Minato's throat.

"WHA?!"

Minato and the figure crashed to the ground hard. The figure's hands were fiercely wrapped around Minato's throat, squeezing tight.

His head banged hard against the ground. Minato's head throbbed and his vision blurred, struggling to focus on the phantom choking the life out of him.

Minato's own hands desperately grabbed at the offender's wrists. He gagged as he struggled, his feet flailing uselessly under the heavy man's body. The attacker on top of him simply continued to squeeze, it's red eyes unblinking, staring down at him.

"S...Stop..." Minato desperately gagged.

"No." The creature hissed.

"P-please..." The boy begged.

"...no." The creature hissed again, a sneer heard in its voice.

Minato's vision was tunneling, the attacker wasn't letting up.

"L-Let...g-go..." Minato's teeth clenched as he struggled. The attacker didn't respond, simply continuing to apply pressure, indifferent to his pleads and suffering.

"Let. GO!" Minato threw his arm out in frustration, clocking the man across his metal face.

He flew back, and Minato gasped for breath, holding his head which stung from striking the hard mask, quickly struggling to his feet.

Stumbling back against the guard rail, Minato turned his head, seeing a long drop ending with a cold splash in the dark waters below.

The phantom's dark chuckle grabbed Minato's attention. The masked figure readjusted his mask as he slowly got to his feet.

"About time..." He droned. "I'd wondered if the first time was a fluke."

Minato managed to regain control of his breathing, albeit raspy. "What...do you...want?!"

The man didn't answer, but rather lunged again.

Minato was alert this time and his survival instincts had kicked in. He lunged to the side, avoiding the attack. He still stumbled, his balance still suffering from the hit he had taken and fell to his knees.

"Better focus brat!"

"What?!" Minato jumped to his feet again and spun around to face his attacker.

Who had changed.

"Y-You're...what?!"

The phantom had vanished, and in his place a familiar face stood.

Her bright pink hair, the ugly scowl, and that unmistakable bloodthirst. It was that girl from the Discipline Squad: Benitsubasa.

Minato was totally confused now.

"What..what are you..."

"THINK FAST BRAT!" The girl spun widely in the air and kicked him across the head. The boy went flying with a cry and crashed to the ground. He felt the ground give way beneath him and suddenly he was hanging on by his hands. Looking down, the water below looked hungry to devour him.

"Minato! I'm coming!"

"Musubi?!" Looking up, sure enough, Minato saw the girl come running for him.

This was...

A firm stamp on his hand made him hiss and broke his train of thought.

"Stay right there!" Benitsubasa snarled. Musubi complied immediately.

"Another step, and I'll drop him," the pink-haired girl smiled smugly. Musubi hissed with frustration.

To Minato it was all surreal. He had been through this before...

"Now...stay right there." With a carefully aimed palm strike, Benitsubasa sent the other Sekirei flying. Musubi flew back with a cry, hitting the pavement. The other girl charged after her, forgetting Minato in the process.

"No!" The Ashikabi cried. He desperately pulled himself up. He did so just in time to seem the Discipline Squad operative wailing on Musubi with blow after blow.

Minato knew what he was seeing. He had seen it all less than a couple of days ago.

He had returned to that night. He was seeing it all happened again. And he knew what was coming.

Like a slow running nightmare, he saw the girl land pound after pound on his beloved Musubi. The Sekirei guarded her head with her arms, blocking each strike as best she could.

Benitsubasa stopped, breathing heavily.

Musubi, looked up, crawling towards Minato who still lay in the ground, just having pulled himself up from the edge of the bridge.

"Mina...to..."

The Ashikabi's eyes widened. Benitsubasa had that sick look on her face the boy remembered. She was readying for the killing blow. She looked down at her prey, eyeing the Sekirei crest on her nape like a prize.

Minato's heart skipped. He knew what was coming.

_'No...not again...'_ He couldn't handle it again. He couldn't look into his Sekirei's eyes.

He looked away.

His eyes suddenly zeroed in on the rubble their battle had accumulated. Specifically, the rebar sticking out... like a sword in the stone. The metal bar was leaning toward him, like it was offering itself.

He didn't blink. Minato grabbed the bar and pulled it out, then flew at Benitsubasa.

The girl looked up with annoyance. "Huh?"

"AAARRGHH!" Minato drew back his weapon to strike.

"WHAT THE-?!" The metal came crashing over her face and sent her flying. The shock threw her far and sent her crashing to the ground.

Minato's face was twisted into a frightening scowl, his heart pumping fast. He felt like his strength had surged. Adrenaline had kicked into full power.

Not this time... Not this time would she...

"You're mine now... BITCH." Minato spat the word. His own voice sounded like a stranger's to him, deep and rough. He was too caught up in the moment to care.

The girl struggled to her feet, holding her head.

"Ah...ah..." Blood poured down the side of Benitsubasa's face. First shock was on her face as she looked at Minato, then twisted to rage.

"You...LITTLE-"

Minato didn't wait for her to finish. He struck again, but she caught the bar this time.

"Nice try," she snarled, then delivered a swift kick to his stomach. The boy flew back, losing his grip on the rebar. He slid on his back before coming to a stop.

Benitsubasa threw the bar away, then slowly began stalking towards her new target.

Minato's hand grabbed something soft. Looking down at it, Minato found gravel running through his fingers. Grabbing a fistful, he threw it at the Sekirei's face.

"AHHH!" The girl screamed. "MY EYES!"

Minato quickly rolled away, running for the rebar. He was tackled to the ground by a blinded Benitsubasa.

"You're too loud you fu-" Minato kicked hard at the girl, his boot hitting her square in the nose. She let go, her hands retreating to cover her wounded face.

Frantically he lunged for the bar. Grabbing it, he stood up and turned to face the Discipline Squad girl. She was beginning to stand, one hand covering her nose, the other bringing her off the group to one knee. Her eyes were still screwed shut from the pain inside them.

Brining the bar up over his head, he pointed down at the Sekirei. With a yell, he brought it down with all his might.

The girl screamed and his eyes were forced open as the rebar plunged into her back and pushed out through her stomach on the other side. She fell back to the ground, forcefully exhaling blood through her mouth.

She coughed hard.

"Y-you..." She gagged, turning her head to look up while feebly propping herself up on her elbow. "Yo-you think...you'll get-AAHHHHHHHH!"

She screeched as Minato twisted the bar forcefully, churning her insides.

Her head fell to the ground and was silent.

The boy stumbled back, breathing hard. At his feet the girl lay dead. He stared for a moment, the turned away to find-

"MUSUBI!"

He ran to where she had been laying. She was gone. Only the crater remained.

"Musubi?" No one answered.

He looked back to Benitsubasa. She was gone as well.

His eyes widened in disbelief. Running up to where he had left her, finding there was no trace. Not even the blood he knew he had spilled. All that remained was the rebar he had impaled her with, sticking out of the ground.

Turing around, looking everywhere, it was clear he was the only one on the bridge now.

The vision had ended.

_"Guess there is hope for you."_

The ghostly voice in his head made Minato spin around. The masked man had returned.

"What..." Minato asked breathlessly. "What...was that?!"

The phantom took a moment before answering. _"What you should have done that night."_

Minato stared, then scowled and ran at the man with a roar.

The masked ghost reached out and grabbed his throat, lifting him into the air.

Minato's teeth clenched and growled as he grinned the man's wrists, resisting with what little strength remained.

His grip wasn't choking him completely, but holding him still.

_"So..."_ It spoke again. _"You're feeling it..."_

"W-What?" Minato forced out.

_"...me."_ It answered. Minato thought he could hear a smile in that voice.

_"But still..."_ The man walked across the bridge with his arm outstretched, holding Minato by the throat. He stopped over the hole; the same one which Minato had nearly been dropped down by Benitsubasa. Beneath him, the water churned and leapt up angrily demanding him.

Minato dangled above them.

The phantom held him firm as his red eyes locked on to Minato's own.

_"So much to learn."_ And he let him go.

Minato dropped and was swallowed whole by the black waves of the river below. Cold water froze his body, and exhaustion robbed him of any notion to struggle.

His vision began to blacken, and he tiredly accepted it.

The masked-man's words echoed as his body and mind sank to the oblivion.

_"You're feeling...me... Guess there's hope for you."_

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p> 


End file.
